Beverage Holder

ABSTRACT

A holder for storing a beverage container in an upright orientation. The beverage holder includes a base with a perimeter and a sidewall extending upwards from the base defining an interior volume with an open upper end. The interior volume can receive a beverage container therein such as a two-liter soda bottle. A bracket disposed on the sidewall of the beverage holder can secure the beverage holder to a shelf of a refrigerator to prevent the beverage container from falling over when the door is opened. The beverage holder can be removed from the shelf and replaced back thereon as desired.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/359,334 filed on Jul. 7, 2016. The above identified patentapplication is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety toprovide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to beverage holders. More specifically,the present invention provides a beverage holder configured to support abeverage container in an upright position on a refrigerator shelf.

Refrigerators keep beverages cold, but main shelf space is often at apremium. Beverage containers are often placed in a door shelf for easyaccess and for minimizing the amount of main shelf space that isoccupied by drinks. Unfortunately, the door shelves are the warmest partof a refrigerator and are the only part of the refrigerator that itemscan fall from due to inertia as a result of the door opening andclosing. However, the practice of storing beverage containers within thedoor shelves nevertheless continues due to the limited refrigeratorstorage space.

When a beverage container is placed in a door shelf and the door issubsequently opened, the liquid within the beverage containerexperiences a centrifugal acceleration due to the swinging door. Whenthe door is halted the liquid with the beverage container continues tomove. The moving liquid causes the beverage container to sway andpossibly knock over other items, as well as potentially falling orspilling contents if the cover is missing or not properly secured. Theeffect is amplified when you have a taller bottle holding a substantialamount of liquid. A sticky, smelly, corrosive, or easily perishablematerial can cause additional harm and difficulty in cleaning.Therefore, there exists a need for a device which can stabilize beveragecontainers when a refrigerator door is swung open and prevent them fromfalling over.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types ofbeverage holders now present in the prior art, the present inventionprovides a beverage holder comprising a base with a sidewall extendingalong the perimeter of the base. The sidewall extends upwards from thebase defining an interior volume with an open upper end. The interiorvolume is configured to receive a beverage container therein. A bracketdisposed on a sidewall is configured to removably secure the beverageholder to a shelf of a refrigerator, wherein the beverage holder can beutilized for providing convenience for the user when a refrigerator dooris opened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will beparticularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and mannerin which it may be made and used may be better understood after a reviewof the following description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holderin use.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the beverageholder in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like referencenumerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similarelements of the beverage holder. The figures are intended forrepresentative purposes only and should not be considered to be limitingin any respect. Unless specifically limited to a single unit, “a” isintended to be equivalent to “one or more” throughout the presentdisclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of anembodiment of the beverage holder. The beverage holder 10 comprises abase 11 with a sidewall 12 extending along the perimeter of the base 11and upwards therefrom to form an interior volume 19 with an open upperend 16. The interior volume 19 is configured to receive a beveragecontainer therein (as seen in FIG. 2). A bracket 18 is disposed on asidewall 12 and is configured to removably secure the beverage holder 10to a shelf of a refrigerator.

In the illustrated embodiment, the base 11 is planar and cylindrical andis configured to receive a single beverage container therein. In otherembodiments, the base 11 is in the shape of a polygon. The base 11 canbe made of any suitable material and in any suitable shape known to aperson of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, the base 11 iswaterproof.

In the illustrated embodiment, the sidewall 12 is a single sidewall 12extending along the perimeter of the base 11. The sidewall 12 extendsvertically from the base 11 to stabilize a beverage container regardlessof the amount of liquid contained therein when exposed to the force andacceleration involved in opening a refrigerator door. In otherembodiments, a plurality of sidewalls 12 are used. The sidewall 12 inthis embodiment further comprises one or more apertures 15. Thesidewalls 12 can be composed of any suitable rigid material such asplastic and in any suitable shape for receiving a beverage container.

In the illustrated embodiment, the apertures 15 are rectangular cut-outson the sidewall 12. The apertures 15 are adapted to allow for easierremoval of a beverage container 22 from the beverage holder 10. In thisway, the apertures 15 reduce the friction between the beverage holder 10and the beverage container 22, such that less force is required toremove the beverage container 22 therefrom. In alternative embodiments,the apertures 15 are circular or another suitable shape, and may havevarious dimensions.

In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket 18 is a hinged bracket with apivotable section 14, pivotally affixed by a hinge 17 to an extensionarm 13. The extension arm 13 extends from the sidewall 12 away from theinterior volume 16. The bracket 18 is configured to allow the pivotablesection 14 snap down and contact a side of the support rail 23 of therefrigerator shelf 21 while the extension arm 13 rests upon an upperedge of the support rail 23. The rest of the beverage holder 10 remainswithin the interior volume of the refrigerator shelf 21. In a snappeddown position, the hinge 17 is configured to provide a spring forceagainst the side of the support rail 23 to prevent the bracket 18 fromreturning to an extended position. In the snapped position (as seen inFIG. 2), the pivotable section 14 is angled inwards and downwardstowards the base 11 of the beverage holder 10 forming a channel 26configured to receive the shelf, while the extension arm 13 remains in ahorizontal plane. In the extended position, the pivotable section 14extends away from the sidewall 12. In one embodiment, the pivotablesection 14 and the extension arm 13 are disposed in the same horizontalplane. In some embodiments, the pivotable section 14 comprises aplurality of tines adapted to provide a better grip against therefrigerator shelf 21.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a perspective view of anembodiment of the beverage holder in use. A refrigerator shelf 21located within a refrigerator door is shown comprising a support rail23. In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket 18 of the beverage holderis removably secured to the refrigerator shelf 21 via the pivotablesection 14. In this way, the beverage holder 10 is configured to supporta beverage container 22 therein and maintains the beverage container 22in an upright position when the refrigerator door is opened or closed.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a perspective view of a secondembodiment of the beverage holder. In the illustrated embodiment, thesidewall 12 extends upwards from the base 11 defining a plurality ofinterior volumes 19A, 19B each with an open upper end 16. In the shownembodiment, the sidewall 13 forms a pair of interior volumes 19A, 19Bseparated by a gap 27 extending from the base 11 to the open upper end,wherein each of the pair of interior volumes 19A, 19B are adapted toreceive a container simultaneously therein.

In the illustrated embodiment, the beverage holder includes a pluralityof brackets 18A, 18B, with each bracket disposed on a first side 30 ofthe beverage holder. Each bracket 18A, 18B is positioned adjacent acorresponding interior volume 19A, 19B respectively. Each bracket 18A,18B is fixed with an extension arm 13 extending out from the sidewall 13and away from the interior volume. In the shown embodiment, theextension arm 13 is L-shaped and has a downward protrusion 31 extendingat an angle from the extension arm 13.

In one embodiment, each of the one or more apertures 33, 34 are equallydimensioned, and disposed at intervals about the sidewall 12. The one ormore apertures include a first pair of lateral apertures 33 and a secondpair of medial apertures 34, wherein each pair of apertures 33, 34includes a first aperture facing a second aperture. Further, the one ormore apertures are positioned equidistant from adjacent apertures.

In use, the pivotable section 14 extending perpendicularly from thesidewall 12 is placed over the support rail 23 of the refrigerator shelf21 and pivoted downwards. A beverage container 22 is placed into theopen interior of the beverage holder 10. The vertical sidewalls of thebeverage holder 10 prevent the beverage container 22 from falling overwhen a refrigerator door is swung open by resting flush against theexterior of the beverage container 22. In use, the beverage container 22is secured to the beverage holder 10 by the sidewalls 12 such that thecenter of gravity of a beverage container 22 is below an upper end ofthe sidewalls 12. The beverage holder 10 includes various embodimentsfor holding one or more beverage containers 22 in every size and shape.

It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown anddescribed in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, thatdepartures may be made within the scope of the invention and thatobvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. Withrespect to the above description then, it is to be realized that theoptimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, toinclude variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and mannerof operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obviousto one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to thoseillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification areintended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

I claim: 1) A beverage holder, comprising: a base affixed to a sidewalldisposed along a perimeter thereof having an open upper end, defining aninterior volume; the interior volume configured to receive a beveragecontainer therein; a bracket disposed on the sidewall configured tosecure the beverage holder to a shelf. 2) The beverage holder of claim1, wherein the bracket comprises a pivotable section rotably affixed toan extension arm via a hinge. 3) The beverage holder of claim 2, whereinthe pivotable section is movable between a snapped down position and anextended position, the snapped down position forming a channelconfigured to receive the shelf. 4) The beverage holder of claim 1,wherein the sidewall comprises one or more apertures thereon. 5) Thebeverage holder of claim 4, wherein each of the one or more aperturesare equally dimensioned and disposed at intervals about the sidewall. 6)The beverage holder of claim 4, wherein the one or more aperturesinclude a first pair of lateral apertures and a second pair of medialapertures, wherein each pair of apertures includes a first aperturefacing a second aperture. 7) The beverage holder of claim 4, wherein theone or more apertures are positioned equidistant from adjacentapertures. 8) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the interiorvolume is configured to receive a single beverage container therein andto secure the beverage container in an upright position via a frictionfit. 9) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the sidewall comprises aplurality of interior volumes joined via a gap extending from the baseto the open upper end, wherein each of the plurality of interior volumesare adapted to receive a beverage container therein. 10) The beverageholder of claim 1, wherein the bracket comprises a plurality brackets,wherein each of the plurality of brackets are disposed on a first sideand adjacent each corresponding interior volume.